HOOVER, Ala. - From the satellite offices deep within the Wynfrey Hotel of the "Talks too much" studios, let's move this.
SEC media days
You know it's a pretty blah-tastic SEC media opener when the best interview was Gus Malzahn, who took a dig at Jim Harbaugh's satellite camp.
Our cohorts at the TFP, Downtown Patrick Brown and Super David Paschall, had interesting stories on Florida and Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson.
We believe this: Jeremy Johnson will have as good a year as any quarterback in the league. Dude is big - with hands the size of man-hole covers - and has the look of someone who truly believes big things are coming.
Also from Hoover, here's our column on SEC commissioner Greg Sankey's first impression at SEC media days.
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Baseball at the break
OK, that was kind of fun. The baseball home run derby was much, Much, MUCH more enjoyable with a clock involved.
Admit it. Nice job to those all involved.
Now, at the ceremonial halfway point, let's review the first half.
NL MVP: Bryce Harper, Washington. Dude rubs folks the wrong way plenty of times, but he also is coming into his own as a player. And that means the former No. 1 overall pick is becoming a bona fide star.
AL MVP: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels. He's the best in the BID-ness.
NL Cy Young: Zach Grienke, Los Angeles Dodgers. The battle between Grienke and Washington's Max Scherzer down the stretch will be fun to watch.
AL Cy Young: Chris Sale, Chicago. Another tight group with several contenders, but Sale's been record-setting so far.
Biggest surprise: That the Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins are tied for the second-most wins in the AL.
We'll take a first-half look at the Braves tomorrow. Deal? Deal.
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Next at FSU
Dalvin Cook is not going down with out a fight.
The Florida State sophomore running back who has been charged with punching a woman did not punch that woman according to his attorney.
And, see if this sounds familiar, the attorney is threatening a civil suit, a la the Jameis Winston scenario last year, if the chargers are not dropped.
So here we go again and FSU is going to be in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
And how Jimbo Fisher - and the top FSU brass - handle this mess will be exceedingly interesting to watch.
Maybe Cook did not do it, but it was clear there were a multitude of football players involved in this melee and the entire Seminoles situation feels fractured.
We'll be watching.
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This and that
- Yeah, this happened. A Texas kicker hit an 80-yard field goal.
- CBSsports.com reports that the NCAA has to pay almost $47 million to Ed O'Bannon's attorneys in his lawsuit.
- Pardon the tangent, but fancy-pants faux country clown Luke Bryan threw some verbal jabs at some of the legends of country music last week. The family of Waylon Jennings did not take kindly to Bryan's assessment.
- Quick side SEC media day story: We were in the elevator on Monday and offered an over/under on number of stops it would make between floor 15 and the lobby. Rick Neuheisel was in the car and was the first one to say under. Yes, that Rick Neuheisel, who got into some hot water for being in an NCAA tournament pool. (He was right by the way.)
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Today's question
Gang, remember the mailbag, and great back-and-forth on Monday.
Well-played indeed.
As for today, well, the British Open is this week (more on that Wednesday), and Tiger Woods met the media on Monday and said he's still in it.
Of course you are Tiger.
Question for the group: Will Tiger win another major?